Sadr men still control shrine, 77 more killedShia fighters appeared still to be in control of a holy shrine in Najaf yesterday after Iraq's interim government said it had overcome a bloody uprising by seizing the Imam Ali mosque without a shot being

Fanatics fight with cops, attack Ahmadiyya baseReligious fanatics clashed with police and attacked an Ahmadiyya Complex at Bakshibazar from a procession yesterday demanding declaration of the sect as non-Muslim in the run-up to their planned siege

Govt likely to seal deal in 2 weeksThe government is likely to seal the final deal with Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in two weeks for the Hong Kong-based consultancy firm to take over management of Agrani Bank.

Life in erosion fury Hundreds of people live in panic although a brick-kiln protection dam was removed on Thursday to quiet the fury of a diverted Buriganga channel blamed for collapse of 11 houses and cracking of another

Think beyond state barriers: MorshedA three-day regional conference of South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) kicked off in the city yesterday with Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan calling on media professionals to think beyond state

Private landline phones unlikely by yearendThe pending demand for fixed telephone in Bangladesh is unlikely to be met by the end of this year as private fixed phone operators will not be able to launch service due to non-availability of interconnection

Oil prices approach 50 dollarsWorld oil prices hit new highs approaching 50 dollars a barrel yesterday on concerns over the safety of key oil infrastructures in Iraq, the scene of heavy fighting between US forces and the army of radical

Govt abusing speedy Trial Act: ALThe main opposition Awami League (AL) yesterday accused the government of abusing the Speedy Trial Act to wipe out opposition from the political landscape of the country.

Rab rescues abducted youthThe Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) rescued a kidnapped youth from Gazipur in the early hours yesterday, 36 hours into his abduction from Lalbagh.

ICM threatens strong protest against Prothom AloThe Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) yesterday burnt copies of the Prothom Alo and threatened to launch a vigorous demonstration against the Bangla daily if it did not seek apology for carrying stories

Khaleda ranks 14 on Forbes women in power list China's Vice Premier Wu Yi is the world's second most powerful woman, Forbes magazine said yesterday as it published a list that also included India's Sonia Gandhi, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri

6 robbers heldA mob yesterday held six highway robbers as they were fleeing after committing robbery in a Narshingdi-bound passenger bus in Karnagop of Rupganj upazila.

New EU commission vows to speed up reformThe incoming European Commi-ssion met for the first time Friday vowing to accelerate EU economic reform and improve the EU's faded public image after the new EU executive formally takes office in November.

China records farm trade deficitChina recorded its first-ever agricultural trade deficit in the first half of the year, casting doubts on its ability to remain a self-sufficient food producer, state press reported Friday.

All-round PattersonRussian gymnastics diva Svetlana Khor-kina was furious with the judges who condemned her to a second-place finish be-hind 16-year-old American Carly Patterson in the battle for the Olympic all-aroundgold

Grappling for statusFeisty females intent on dispelling the notion that women's wrestling is just a sexy sideshow to the main Olympic event make their Games debut on Sunday.

Football:Ctg MSC in super six, Muktijoddha heldChittagong Moha-mmedan Sporting Club completed the super six line-up of the Fourth Nitol-Tata Football Lea-gue when the locals eliminated Pancha-garh Brothers Uni-on with a hard-fought 2-1 victory intheir

ATHENS STREET TALKNewly-crowned women's Olympic 100m freestyle champion Jodie Henry, 20, admitted that she had been a slow starter when it came to her swimming career.

Cricket:Harmison showSteve Harmison starred with bat and ball as England took control on the second day of the fourth and final Test against the West Indies here at the Oval on Friday.

Cricket:Kallis, Boucher boost SAJacques Kallis and Mark Boucher slammed half-centuries as South Africa posted a competitive 263-9 in the first one-dayer against Sri Lanka at the Premdasa Stadium here on Friday.

Sky is the limitIraq's footballers had to be airlifted from Baghdad to Athens by the Australian air force to make the Olympics but on Saturday there'll be no room for sentiment when they face the Olyroos for a placein

Football:Owen's first dayWith David Beckham always close at hand, Michael Owen appeared at his first training session with Real Madrid on Thursday.

Football:MU under pressure alreadyThe second week of a nine-month season would seem a little premature for talk of teams falling out of the Premiership title race.

Cricket:Bashar stays positiveBangladesh captain Habibul Bashar was keeping his fingers crossed (no pun intended!) as he waited for a favourable report from doctors in Australia regarding his fractured right thumb.

Cricket:Bangladesh U-19s make 346The Bangladesh Under 19 team took a 161-run first innings lead over England on the final day of the third and last Test at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff yesterday.

Dolly records best timingDolly Akhter put her Sydney Games memory behind when she successfully jumped into the pool in the women's 50m freestyle heat in the Athens Olympic yesterday.

'Harder, deeper, longer'The organisers of the Athens Olympics have vainly tried to remove the Greek edition of Playboy from the newspaper stands for offending the Games with a section on the Olympian traditions of sex, the magazine

Jui to learn heptahlonSAF Games silver medalist in long jump Fouzia Huda Jui is set to become the first women athlete from Bangladesh to learn the finer points of heptathlon.

Woodgate for RealEngland international defender Jonathan Woodgate passed his medical and will sign a four-year contract with Real Madrid on Saturday, the Spanish giants said.

Football:BFF AGM now on Oct 2The Annual General Meeting of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) will be held on October 2 instead of the earlier scheduled date of September 25.

Cricket:Lanka 234 for 6 after 45 oversThe first one-day international between Sri Lanka and South Africa yesterday was heading for a tight finish as the hosts reached 234 for 6 after 45 overs.

Agreement with Brac to eliminate TBAn agreement to eliminate tuberculosis in Bangladesh was signed between Brac as the principal recipient of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria (GFATM), Geneva and nine other partner organisations

Culprits under political clout evade arrestThe men behind production and marketing of adulterated medicines, fertiliser and cement in Rangpur can not be arrested because of pressure from ruling party men, sources in the Detective Branch of police

Programmes held but aborigines live in panicA deep sense of insecurity is prevailing among the aborigine families at Bhimpur in Naogaon where aborigine youth Alfred Soren was killed in a dispute over land four years ago, creating an outcry in the

Fatal flood falloutThe floodwater has receded from Islampur upazila in Jamalpur district but left a deep scar, making several thousand lands uncultivable. The lands have turned into sheets of sand.

6 chargesheetedCharges were framed against six persons as accused of Workers Party (WP) leader Dr Hiralal murder case.

Anti-drug drive in B'baria soonAn anti-drug campaign aiming at creating awareness among people will begin soon at all upazilas in the district as soon as floodwater recedes.

8-hour strike in Rajshahi tomorrowAn eight-hour strike will be observed here tomorrow pressing for fulfillment of demands for withdrawal of VAT and a government announcement for supply of natural gas.

Jamaat is not an Islamic party: Charmonai PirThe chief of the Islami Shashantantra Andolon (ISA), Charmonai Pir Alhaj Maulana Syed Fazlul Karim, yesterday said Jamat-e-Islami, a partner in the ruling Four-Party Alliance, is not at all an Islamic

Five Jubo League Leaders get life for murderFive Jubo League leaders were sentenced to life term rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a verdict announced by Additional Sessions Judge of Nilphamari Md Jahidul Islam on Tuesday in the sensational Jewelmurder

Laws do not apply to IsraelOn Thursday before last, August 12, the writer's younger son, who is interning with the local US Congressman for the summer, came home for lunch and dropped a bombshell: "Rumours has it that (New Jersey)

BAMBA's mega concert with a great motiveIt was the first day of the two-day concert of Bangladesh Musical Bands' Association (BAMBA), for raising funds for the rehabilitation of the flood ravaged people of the country.

Celebrating Berlin film festivalIn the second of the series of film sessions focusing on the best film festivals in the world, Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies (BFFS) and Goethe-Institut Dhaka will jointly organise 'Celebrating

For a fairy childhoodGone are the days of childhood filled with moments sitting around grandmother in a cozy corner, half-lit by a flickering lantern, and listening to wonderful fairytales.

Listed criminal held in RajshahiMembers of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested an identified criminal and recovered a revolver from his possession at Naohata under Paba upazila of the district early yesterday morning.

Iran calls for urgent OIC meeting on IraqIranian reformist president Mohammad Khatami yesterday asked the heads of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to urgently convene "to try to find solutions to the deepening Iraqi crisis,"

Nepal agrees to meet Maoist demandMaoist rebels who have cut off Kathmandu for three days attacked security forces and bombed buildings inside the Nepalese capital yesterday, as the government partially agreed to guerrilla demands for

US, S Korea fail to hammer out dealThe United States and South Korea failed yesterday to hammer out a deal over a timetable for the planned reduction of US troops here, with Seoul asking for the cut to be delayed, officials said.

US asks Tigers to return to talksThe United States urged Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka Thursday to cease political assassinations, suicide bombings and recruitment of child soldiers and resume peace talks with the government.

Georgia starts South Ossetia pulloutGeorgia has begun withdrawing troops from the conflict zone in South Ossetia a day after it claimed to have captured key strategic positions in the area.

Editorial:IMF loan conditionsIn a recent meeting with the finance minister, the executive director of the IMF raised the possibility that the IMF may not release the fourth tranche of an anti-poverty loan that was scheduled for disbursement

Editorial:Image of the countryComments made by our Foreign Minister after the first ever meeting of the Strategic Country Promotional Council, a public-private body recently formed to develop ways to better the country's image, have

Don't read only for pleasureAt first I should admit that I was bewildered by the piece written by DU economics student Ms Durdana Ghias (Aug 11, 2004) in response to Mahfuzul Haque's letter (Aug 02, 2004)

Probably, Ms Durdana

Divide and rule policyIt looks to me, (born and brought up in British India before partition before migrating to Dhaka), that Uncle Sam is imitating the old and tried British divide-and-rule policy in Muslim (and oil-rich)

Learning from Bill ClintonBill Clinton's book My Life is a best seller on the Dhaka streets. I bought Clinton for a mere one hundred Taka, and started noting quotable quotes. Here is the first installment of musings.